The Growing Jobs and Small Business package aims to make mature job seekers more employable, and to increase their likelihood of employment through subsidised wages.
The Government is investing $6.8 billion to establish the program, which offers attractive wage subsidy arrangements for businesses that employ young job seekers, mature workers, parents and the long-term unemployed.
The program is intended to create more opportunities for job seekers over 50 who are looking to return to the workforce. From 1 November, employers who take on a mature worker will receive a wage subsidy of up to $10,000 per year for employees who work for 12 months or more.
Large employers who take on more than 10 mature workers will be able to negotiate the timing of payments to better assist with the costs of hiring multiple staff at one time. This will enable employers to cover up-front costs such as training or retraining, as well as workplace education programmes.
The package has been constructed to not only aid job seekers to find employment, but to assist employers in retaining their services over the long term.
How does this benefit retirees?
This is good news for seniors looking to re-enter the job market, especially as the government intends to go ahead with raising the official retirement age to 70 and more older Australians have to remain in the workforce for longer.
However, employers will undoubtedly weigh up the cost of a younger worker compared to employing someone with more experience and possibly higher salary expectations. $10,000 may not be enough to cover this for a sustained period of time.
